Reality and Chaos
by JokeGhost77
Summary: Gordon: We've realized our worst fears.  Joker: I'm gonna destroy Gotham from the inside-out. Arthur: We need to find the Batman. The Joker has become an extractor.  Eames: This will be one hell of a ride.  Batman: We have to stop him.  Dom: I'm ready
1. Out of the Darkness

**I don't own anything here. No copyright infringement intended.**

Dom Cobb was sleeping soundly in his bed enjoying a dream. He was at peace with his thoughts so he didn't have to worry about Mal popping in and wrecking it. However she was in his dream, along with their kids. Dom's dream was just him in his house talking with his wife at the table watching their kids outside playing. And Mal didn't seem angry at all.

"This is the only way I can see you again," he said to his wife. "I hope it's okay if I have to go soon."

"I understand," she said.

But suddenly the lights dimmed shortly. Dom and Mal looked up wondering what was going on. The kids ran off.

"Aha Ha Ha Ha He He Ho He Aha," the strange laughing came from an unknown voice somewhere. Dom and Mal could hear footsteps coming from the hallway.

"What the hell," Dom said. "Stay back," he said to Mal. Dom opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a gun and aimed at the hall.

A man wearing makeup and a purple suit walked into the room.

"Enjoying your little dream here?" he said.

"Who are you, what do you want!" Dom shouted aiming the gun at him.

"Oh nothing I'm just here to talk," the guy said pulling a gun out, aiming at Dom. "Say it's my first time here but I'm loving it. Being able to go into someone's dreams, getting inside his head, it's a new way for me to corrupt someone from the inside-out." The stranger had a big grin on his red, scarred mouth. "It's a brand new joke except I get tell you the punch line... personally."

"Who the hell are you!" Dom screamed.

"Me? I'm the Joker," he said picking up an apple from the table. "And I really like what you've done with the place," he said as he took a bite.

Dom fired his gun at the Joker but he didn't die.

"I guess you've realized now I'm not a projection," the Joker said. "But she is," and he shot Mal.

"Mal!" Dom screamed coming to her. She was dead, but of course she was only a projection. The Joker however was not and he wouldn't die.

Dom looked up, "How did you get here?" he said. "Are you in my room?"

"No," Joker said. "But that's not important, what is important is that the people of Gotham will now know that I will always be there to put a smile on their face and a bullet in their head," he laughed.

Dom threw a punch at the Joker but he caught his hand and punched Dom. He was sitting on the ground looking up at the crazy clown.

"Give this to Batman when you meet him," the Joker said as he threw a letter to Dom.

"Who's Batman?" Dom said.

"Just go over to Gotham and you'll find out," he answered.

"By the way, you wanna know how I got these scars?" the Joker said with his gun to Dom's head. "I was robbing a bank you see, I just blow up the front desk and go into the vault. As I'm walking out, I notice a cute little banker on the ground. I walk over to her, take out my knife, and say, 'Oh you look frightened so… let's put a smile on that face!' Just then a cop walks in and aims a gun at me. I hold the banker like a hostage. I tell him 'You know you really shouldn't be playing cop here, every second you're here brings you closer to death,' as I walk out the cop fires, the bullet rips along the side of my face. The pain… So I drop the girl, kick the gun out of his hands, and I stick the blade in his mouth. And… Why… So… Serious?" the Joker told Dom a scar story before shooting him.

Dom woke up with an envelope in his hands.

"What the hell?" he said with a fright. He sat up at spun his totem on the bedside table. It fell over so he was awake.


	2. Joker Card

Dom rushed over to his phone. James woke up and opened the door to see his father.

"Daddy what's going on?" James asked.

His father assured him, "It's nothing son just go back to sleep." And James did just that. Dom got on the phone and called Arthur.

"Hello?" Arthur answered.

"Arthur, it's me Dom I need you to get over here right now," he told Arthur with no hesitation at all.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"I'll explain later just get over to our workshop right now!" Dom said.

Arthur hung up, got his coat, and drove over to their workshop. The same place where they had trained Ariadne how to be an architect of dreams. When Arthur walked in he found Dom pacing around the place.

"You made it," Dom said.

"What's this about?" Arthur asked. Dom handed him the letter. "A letter from where?"

"I got it from a dream," Dom said seriously.

"What, a dream?" Arthur surprisingly said. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know," Dom said. "Is it possible for the brain to actually create things in the real world while you're sleeping?"

"No of course not," Arthur said. "You sure he didn't sneak it into room while you were sleeping? Anyway, what does it say?"

"I haven't read it yet," Dom said. He took the letter and opened it.

Dear Bats,

I hope you've realized that Arkham couldn't hold me. I'm back and now I've got more material ready for the people of Gotham. I hope you'll be there to try and stop me cause you're just too much fun. They haven't lost their minds yet so I'm guessing they don't know the truth about Harvey Dent. I was right, they cast you out like a monster. They don't need you anymore. But don't worry I'll be there to strike more fear into their little spirits so they'll be begging for you. It'll be too late though. They'll all be dead and I'll be there watching… and laughing. As you know, I'm a man of my word.

With Smiles,

The Joker

"The Joker?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah he's the guy I met in my dream. The one who gave me the letter," Dom answered. "There was something about him though. He wasn't a projection and when I shot him he wouldn't die." Just then Dom felt something else in the envelope he was holding. He reached in the envelope and pulled out a Joker card and showed it to Arthur.

"Damn, I don't know who this guy is but he sounds insane" Arthur said.

"He was," Dom said. "If what he said is true we can't let this happen, we have to find this Batman. The Joker said he was in Gotham."

"Alright then, we should assemble our team and I'll book us a flight to Gotham in maybe four days," Arthur said.

"Make it three," Dom demanded.

"Gotcha," Arthur answered. The two men left the room and went back to their homes.


	3. Miles' Teaching

The next day, Dom went to the college university to find Ariadne. He knew just where to look first. He went to a classroom but didn't find her. Instead he found his father-in-law Miles grading papers. Miles looked up and saw his son-in-law walk in.

"I didn't expect to see you here again, you don't call much," Miles said.

"I'm here on special circumstances," Dom answered.

"What's the dream problem this time?" Miles asked.

"You've taught me everything I know, but here's something new that you might want to hear." Dom explained his dream, "A strange man wearing makeup showed up in my dream. Called himself the Joker."

"Ah, I've heard of him. He's a maniac," Miles said.

"So he is real." Dom said.

"But he should be in Gotham. How did he get into your dream?" Miles asked.

"That's the thing. I don't know. When I woke up he wasn't near me." Dom said.

"That's odd. How would he be able to infiltrate your mind then?" Miles said.

"I don't know. Would he have access to people's minds while not hooked up to them through a PASIV device?" Dom asked.

"This man must know some tricks then," Miles said.

"There's one thing that bugs me, though," Dom said wondering. "I took out a gun and shot him but he didn't die."

"That's impossible, if he died he should've woken up," Miles said.

"That's what I'm saying." Dom said, "If I fall asleep again, he could come into my dream again and extract everything I know."

"I've heard many rumors about him." Miles said. "He was dangerous enough in the real world, but with the power to go into dreams he'll be unstoppable."

"What do I do?" Dom asked.

"You've got to know how to defend yourself even better." Miles said. "I've already taught you a lot but to deal with men like him you must go further. The best place to teach you is in your dream boy."

"I didn't bring my PASIV device with me," Dom said.

"Don't worry I've got a spare." Miles said as he stood up and walked over to a nearby broom closet. He brought out the briefcase and set on his desk. "I always knew I'd need it again someday," he said as he opened it and handed a wire to Dom.

"Let's do this," Dom said before he fell asleep.

He found himself in a small urban town. He looked around at all the three story houses and hotels surrounding him for Miles.

"Dom!" Miles shouted about 20 feet behind him standing at an intersection. Dom turned around and walked to him.

"So I still got it huh?" Dom said referring to the dream town he created.

"Not bad for an amateur," Miles jokingly said. "Let's take a walk."

The light turned green and they walked across the street.

"Now more I think about it, I guess it is possible if the Joker was actually able to survive your bullet," Miles told him. "You sure he wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest?"

"No just a purple suit," Dom answered.

"Ah then he must've been trained on how to use his mind effectively," Miles said. "Here this way." The two of them walked into a hotel and took an elevator. Miles pressed the button.

"How'd he do it?" Dom asked.

"Ah here's your next lesson son. Whoa paradox." Miles said as the elevator they were in started to move sideways and zig-zag. But still the two of them still felt fine as if the elevator was moving normally. Then the elevator was upside down and moved downward.

"This is our stop," Miles said as they came to a halt. The two of them walked out and ended up on the top of the hotel. "Nice tricks Dom," he said.

"Better than you did," Dom said chuckling.

"Alright let's get down to business," Miles said. The two of them walked over to the balcony. He explained, "Apparently the Joker knows how to focus the subconscious of his mind to make himself invincible in the dream world. Some people are able to use these kinds of special abilities through training kind of like your friend Eames. He can transform right?"

"Yeah," Dom said.

"The Joker will only wake up when he wants to or if he's kicked but he won't die," Miles said. "Looks like we'll have to even up the fight. I'm gonna teach you how to do this."

"Is it possible for me to make myself invincible like he does?" Dom asked.

"I think so but you'll need to focus," Miles said. "Keep control of your dream during this practice.

"Got it," Dom assured as he took a deep breath as he was ready.

"Alright now close your eyes," Miles instructed. "I want you to imagine a bullet coming at you." Dom concentrated with his eyes closed as he pictured it in his mind. Miles continued, "Now I want you to imagine yourself the bullet through any means whether it be a bulletproof vest, or moving out of the way. Anything works."

Dom stood there with his eyes closed following his father-in-law's instructions. He imagined a bullet hitting him but it shattered and he was completely unharmed.

"Alright open your eyes," Miles said. "What you were doing there was focusing your thoughts to change your own state in the dream. The mind is a powerful thing. You can change the stuff around you but why not yourself?"

"I can," Dom said. "You're saying that I can use my subconscious to protect myself."

"That's right. As long as you know you're in a dream whatever you can envision you can use," Miles taught him.

"How do I know if this works?" Dom asked.

"For one thing you won't wake up, allowing you to stay in the dream and do whatever it is you're doing" Miles said. "Now do you wanna test it?" Then Miles pulled out a gun and aimed it and Dom.

"Whoa, what's that for?" Dom said.

"It's to see if you can really protect yourself through your subconscious," Miles said.

"Alright then, I'm ready," Dom said as he closed his eyes. He heard a gunshot and he knew Miles and shot the gun. Dom opened his eyes and saw he was in the classroom.

"Damn it," he said.

Nearby Miles opened his eyes. "You've got to try harder than that son. Focus," he said.

"Fine let's do it again," Dom said as he hooked up the wires and went to sleep again.

He opened his eyes and found himself on the roof of the same building with his father-in-law aiming a gun at him.

"Ready?" Miles asked.

"Just do it," Dom said with his eyes closed. Miles did just that and shot. Dom opened his eyes and saw he was still in the dream with his father-in-law looking at him, smiling.

"Well done. Miles said. "And if you continue to train your mind and control your subconcious you'll be able to do that with your eyes open and you could even get your projections to fight for you."

"Amazing. Opens up more options," Dom said. "Now let's go."

Both of them woke up in the classroom.

"One more thing," Dom said. "The Joker gave me this in the dream." He handed Miles the letter.

Miles read it. "Hmm, Sounds like you gotta one hell of a trip ahead."

"I ended up with it after the Joker gave me it in the dream. Do you think he was able to transmit the letter from the dream into the real world?" Dom asked.

"Now that's impossible," Miles said. "His guy probably just snuck into your room and left it there."

"Probably," Dom said. "Oh yeah one more thing. Could I borrow Ariadne again?"

"Oh come on can't you get things done yourself?" Miles said.

"She was one of the best young architects I've seen," Dom said. "She understands dreams in a way that can help her to achieve great things. Plus the Joker won't think to look for her."

"Alright then son," Miles said. "You're just lucky it's spring break."


	4. Arthur and Yusuf

Dom walked through the halls of the school looking for Ariadne. He then saw her just ahead of him walking. He called out, "Ariadne!" She turned around and saw him.

"Nice seeing you here Mr. Cobb," she said.

"Yeah," Dom answered. "Now I've got another 'job offer' for you."

"Another inception on another high corporate businessman?" Ariadne asked.

"No. Come with me and I'll explain," Dom said.

"Ok then. It's not like I was planning on going to the beach anyway," Ariadne said.

As the two of them walked through the streets he told her what he knew about the dream, the Joker, and the upcoming quest to stop him.

"I thought the Joker was locked up in Arkham," Ariadne said.

"I'm afraid not," Dom answered. "He's broken out and now he's breaking into people's dreams which is why we have to go to Gotham and make sure that the world won't lose it's mind in his hands."

"Then why do you need me?" Ariadne asked.

"Well the Joker wouldn't expect a little girl like you to be a great architect," Dom said jokingly.

"Hey," Ariadne asked.

"Plus it wouldn't be a mission without you," Arthur said from behind them. Dom and Ariadne turned around (although Ariadne was a little startled) to find Arthur and Yusuf walking behind them.

"Ah Arthur I see you found Yusuf," Dom said.

"Well would your team be without you're good old sedatives expert," Yusuf happily said.

Arthur then told Dom, "You wouldn't believe where I found him."

**~Flashback~**

Arthur walked over to 455 Brookland road to find Yusuf at the Bale Medicine & Drugs store. Yusuf was the shopkeeper there handling his wide array of sedatives and medicines. Then Arthur walked into the door. The bell rang and Yusuf walked to the front desk to see him.

"Well if isn't my good friend Arthur," Yusuf said.

"I see selling drugs in Mombassa isn't enough for you," Arthur answered.

'I am here to expand my business and so far it's going great," Yusuf said. "So what are you here for?"

Arthur told him, "I've got another proposition for you."

"Ah, need more sleep inducing drugs?" Yusuf said.

"Maybe, but we've got a situation here," Arthur seriously said.

Just then a van pulled in outside.

"Oh no," Yusuf said. "Arthur get down." Arthur lied down behind the front desk.

Four street thugs exited the van and entered the store.

"What are you guys doing here?" Yusuf said.

The leader of the thugs walked up to Yusuf and said, "We're here for the stuff you owe us."

"I told you I don't sell those types of illegal drugs," Yusuf said.

"That's why we paid you to get a shipment in," the guy said. "And you did nothing."

"The shipment hasn't come in," Yusuf said. "Because I don't deal with low lives like you."

"Wrong thing to say old man," the thug said and pulled out a gun and aimed it at Yusuf.

Arthur heard what was going on and he slowly walked around the front desk. He snuck up behind one of thugs in the back. Arthur grabbed the thug and held his hand over the thug's mouth.

Regardless the others heard the thugs muffled grumbles and turned around. Arthur knew he was ready for a fight as the thug in his arms began to pass out and as Arthur slammed his head against a shelf.

"What the hell?" the thug leader said. The other two thugs attacked Arthur. But as the leader turned away Yusuf grabbed his gun holding arm and disarmed him. Then Yusuf held the thug leader in a headlock.

Arthur battled the other two thugs. They threw punches at him but he ended up blocking them and countering. Arthur ducked as one of the thugs punched the other accidentally. Meanwhile the thug leader passed out in Yusuf's headlock. Arthur kicked a thug in the stomach and beat him down. The other tried to attack Arthur from behind but Yusuf pulled out a gun from a drawer underneath and shot the last thug in the foot.

"Who the hell were those guys?" Arthur asked after the fight ended.

Yusuf answered, "Just some jerks who demanded I supply them with illegal marijuana. I didn't expect it would turn ugly. Thanks Arthur." Yusuf walked over to a nearby phone and called the police.

A few minutes later the police came in and arrested the thugs.

"Need help cleaning up?" Arthur asked.

"No I don't clean up here," Yusuf said. "I leave that to the Fredericks. He comes here at night to clean up. Let him worry about the blood on the floor." Although Arthur and Yusuf were unscarred, there was a pool of blood on the floor left by the thugs.

"Now what did you come here for?" Yusuf asked.

"Oh yeah, I've got another job for you," Arthur said. "The Joker has broken out of Arkham and is infiltrating people's dreams like he did to Dom yesterday. We're heading to Gotham in about two days."

**~End Flashback~**

"And that's what happened," said Arthur.

"That's quite a story there," Dom said.

The four of them walked through the streets.

"Why do they call him the Joker?" Yusuf asked.

"I heard he wears makeup to scare people," Arthur said. "And the last thing people hear before he kills them is his insane laughter."

"Alright the only one missing now is Eames," Dom assured.

"Good luck he's in Venezuela," Arthur said.

Dom suddenly got a little pissed and said, "Why is it that whenever we need him he's always on vacation somewhere?"

"I don't know he loves to gamble," Arthur said. "Anyway, looks like we're taking a side trip."

Dom said pointing to Yusuf and Ariadne, "You two stay here, me and Arthur are going down to Venezuela."

"Right I'll stay at my shop," Yusuf said. "Maybe bring some sedatives with me later."

"What should I do?" Ariadne asked.

"Prepare yourself," Arthur said.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Dom said.


	5. Second Chase

That evening, Dom and Arthur took a plane to Venezuela. The two of them had plenty of coffee to keep themselves awake. They wouldn't dare fall asleep risking an encounter with the Joker in their minds. If he got into their minds he would discover their objectives and thoughts.

When the two of them arrived at the airport, they took a cab to the city. They walked through the streets looking around at the buildings.

"Where do you think he could be?" Dom asked.

"Like I said, he likes to gamble," Arthur reassured.

Just then the two of them stopped and looked up at the sign of the building in front of them. The Laguna Hoxa hotel and casino.

"Here maybe?" Arthur said.

"Biggest casino around here," Dom answered.

The two of them walked in and saw the slot machines and poker tables. They searched around for Eames.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Arthur said.

"And that's another win. 5,000! YEAH!" came from a nearby poker table. Dom and Arthur walked over to it.

"You got a lucky hand Eames," said one of the guys.

"Yeah life is good," Eames said.

"How much you got?" Dom said as he walked over to Eames.

"Well if it isn't my good friend Cobb!" Eames said. "What brings you here?"

"Let's go and I'll tell you," Dom answered.

"Aw alright then, I was feeling bad about this next hand anyway," Eames said.

"Next time Eames," shouted a guy from behind.

"Yeah in maybe a year or two," Eames told him. He took his chips and cashed out. "Want some drinks?" he asked.

"No thanks I'm good," Dom said.

Then Arthur walked in. He said, "You two get reacquainted while I get us a ride." He left out the door.

"Oh it's Arthur," Eames said.

"Yeah, now here's the deal," Dom said. The two of them sat down at a bar table. Dom explained to Eames on the upcoming mission to stop the Joker.

"Sounds like you've got quite an ordeal," Eames said.

"Yeah," Dom replied.

"You've got to know who you're up against Cobb," Eames said. "I've heard about this guy, one of the greatest troubles Gotham ever had. To this day one guy has ever stopped him."

"The Batman," Dom said.

"Right," Eames answered. "The Joker is a mad dog driven off the edge. He has no rules, no limits and he loves the sound of death. Force is the only way to stop him."

"Sounds like I something I ate for breakfast yesterday," Dom said.

"Alright then. If the he really has gotten into your mind there's no time to waste," Eames said.

"How do you know so much about this guy Eames?" Dom asked.

"I've been to Gotham during the Joker attacks, he does some nice footwork," Eames said.

Just then Dom noticed some weird looks around the bar.

"Say that time we busted the drug cartel around here, these guys don't remember that right?" Dom said.

"I don't know. I thought they did," Eames said. "It's been years."

"Something like that isn't easy to forget," Dom said. "We should go."

The two them left the casino and were followed by a few men. They used to be part of the small drug cartel that were dealing in the coastal Venezuela area. Dom, Arthur, and Eames however stopped their operations many years ago and apparently they hadn't forgotten.

Dom and Eames turned slightly behind to notice a few guys converging on them. One of them was talking into his cellphone telling the other members of the broken up cartel to come here.

"Eames you got you're gun?" Dom whispered.

"Never leave home without it," Eames answered.

"You take the one on the right," Dom said. "On three."

"One… Two… Three…" Dom and Eames then spun around and shot the two guys following them in the foot.

"Okay run," Dom said as he noticed more guys coming out of the alleys. Dom and Eames then ran for it. The drug dealers ran after them and started firing at them with their handguns.

"This is why I like to keep my vacations short!" Eames said.

The two of them ran through the streets and alleys of Venezuela. They ran into a nearby alley way. Dom picked up a trash can cover and waited for the nearest guy to run into the alley. He came and Dom whacked him with it and resumed running. As the two of them came to an intersection, a van drove up there and two guys opened up the windows and started firing at them. Dom and Eames cut into another a street.

Then Arthur pulled up near them at another intersection driving a car.

"I see they remembered. Get in," Arthur said.

"Arthur you old turd," Eames said jokingly. He and Dom got into the backseats and Arthur stepped his foot down onto the pedal. Dom and Eames opened up the back windows and started firing on the drug cartel chasing them.

"Hang on!" Arthur shouted as he made a hard turn.

Motorcycle gunners started coming in. Dom and Eames shot a few of them off.

"When will these guys ever learn?" Eames said.

"Aw crap," Arthur said looking at the upcoming drawbridge. The lights were on and the drawbridge started to rise to let a ship through. "Across that bridge is the fastest way back to the airport so unless you want to drive for miles trying to lose these guys-"

"Just floor it," Dom said.

Arthur drove fast through the gate onto the rising draw bridge. Just before they entered, Dom and Eames shot the tires of the van chasing them. They drove to the top of the rising bridge half and drove off. Arthur crossed his fingers. They soared through the air to the other half. It looked like they might miss it.

But then they landed safely on the other half of the bridge and exited it.

"Whew my heart's pounding," Arthur said.

"Suck it up let's go," Dom said as the three of them drove back to the airport.

**A/N: No copyright or references to actual places. I made the drug cartel story to keep the epic chase scene.**


	6. A Visit

The entire team assembled at the workshop.

"The Joker's a dangerous clown. We need to know how to deal with him," Arthur said.

"Alright I've told you all that the Joker can control his subconscious to protect himself," Dom said. "The only way to kill him is to do it without him knowing."

"So a sneaky kill from behind, works for me," Eames said. "So should we start planning on how we're going to take down the clown?"

"As far as I'm concerned he doesn't have many weaknesses," Arthur said. "I found nothing on him. No name, no other alias, no known relationships. I don't even know what makes him tick. This guy is dark."

Yusuf continued on, "Even if he's new at this he has already trained his subconcious, you know what that means."

"Militarized projections," Dom said. "We'll have to stay on our guard."

"Wait, there's still another person we need part of our team," Ariadne said.

"Who?" Eames asked.

"Batman. So far he's the only one who can stop the Joker. We need his help," Ariadne said.

"That's why we're leaving for Gotham. Plane tickets for everyone," Arthur said.

"So everyone be ready. We leave tomorrow," Dom said.

And with that everyone left the workshop and went back to their homes.

Arthur had a long rough day. Rescuing Yusuf and Eames took a lot out of him and he rarely slept to protect his mind from the Joker. But when he got home he walked into his bedroom and crashed down onto his bed.

And then Arthur had a dream while he was sleeping. He dreamed he was in a middle eastern market walking around. He looked on as his projections conversed and sold things to each other. At first Arthur wasn't completely aware if he was dreaming or not. He suspected he was so he ran into a nearby hut and rolled his loaded die totem. And then Arthur realized it: He was dreaming. At that moment Arthur felt a bit worried and his projections started to look at him. Arthur recognized the attention he was getting so he calmed down and accepted that he might have to be in this dream for a few hours. So his projections continued doing whatever they were doing.

But then suddenly gunshots were heard in the distance and all the people began to run away. Anyone who didn't run away was shot down. Arthur tried to take a look at where the gunshots were coming from but the crowd got in his way so he ducked into a nearby alley and looked on into the smoke filled distance. He saw four armed figures walking towards him.

"Woo ha ha ha ha!" the laughter came from one of the figures and immediately Arthur realized who it was.

"No," Arthur said.

The smoke cleared up and Arthur saw them. It was the Joker along with armed projections wearing clown masks.

"He's taken control of his projections," Arthur whispered to himself with dismay. He reached into a nearby basket and pulled out a pistol.

In a flash, Arthur popped out of the alley and took out two of Joker's clowns and they returned fire. Arthur fired at the Joker but failed to hurt him. Then the Joker let out a groan and shot Arthur in the foot.

"Aahh," Arthur shouted as he dropped to the ground. The Joker and his clown walked over to Arthur.

"Hands up," the clown projection shouted as he aimed his rifle at him.

The Joker looked Arthur in the eye and grinned. "Ah, you must be Dom's squeeze," he said. "You wouldn't happen to have any secrets to show me, would you?"

"Go to hell," Arthur said.

"Alright we'll do it the hard way," Joker said as his clown hit Arthur in the back with the butt of his gun.

"You're not getting anything out of me," Arthur said as he instantly realized a way to end this. He aimed his pistol at his own head.

The Joker did nothing to stop him however. He just chuckled and said, "See you in Gotham."

Arthur then pulled the trigger and woke up. It was morning.

**To Be Continued**


	7. Batman's Contact: Gordon

The next day the team met at the airport.

"Plane tickets please," the lady said.

"Alright their here somewhere," Arthur said as he dug in his bag. "Oh crap."

Dom said, "I swear Arthur if you forgot them I'm gonna-"

"Here they are!" Arthur said as he handed them over. "Second class. Sorry Dom I don't have the kind of money that Saito has to get us first class."

The five of them walked onto the plane and flew to Gotham. It had been a long ride thinking, planning on what they were gonna do to find Batman and stop the Joker. But they couldn't think of much.

"I heard he only appears at night," Eames said.

"We'll think about it once we get there," Arthur answered.

As the plane docked, they exited, got their bags, and walked through the streets of Gotham discussing their situation and sightseeing.

"Arthur now try making yourself useful," Dom said.

"Ha ha," Arthur said sarcastically.

"Got any leads on where Batman might be?" Dom asked.

"I got one," Arthur spoke on. "Police Commissioner Jim Gordon. He's in charge of the police. He the one who calls Batman to deal with the scum here. He might have contacts with him."

The team went to the police station to find Gordon. Dom walked to the front desk and asked Officer Ramirez if they could see Gordon.

"Yes Ramirez is it? I would like to see Jim Gordon."

"You here on important matters?" she asked.

"Yes you could say that. Matters involving the Joker. You know him right?" Dom said.

Ramirez then looked startled as she said, "One moment please." She walked into the other room and told Gordon about their visitors. "Alright you can come in," she said.

Dom and Arthur walked into the commissioner office carrying a suitcase and the others waited outside.

Dom, Arthur, and Gordon discussed the matter in a coffee shop.

"Hello there Gordon my name is Dom Cobb," Dom introduced himself. "This is Arthur."

"Hello gentleman what are you for?" Gordon said. "Try not to waste my time I got a lot of things tonight."

"This won't take long hopefully," Dom said. "Now I believe the Joker has broken out of Arkham."

"Yes it's a very troubling matter," Gordon said. "I don't how he did it. That place is rock solid."

"I'm afraid the Joker has made a threat to Gotham," Arthur said as he handed Gordon the letter. He read it.

"This is bad," Gordon said. "The people don't know about Harvey Dent. I've kept it under attention for so long. Had to pull a lot of strings to clear Batman's name. Gotham was safe for that time though, but now that the Joker's back I don't think our citizens can take much more of it."

"Who was Harvey Dent by the way?" Dom said.

"I can't tell you guys, I'm going," Gordon said assertively.

"No don't worry me and my friend are not from here. And trust me if there are secrets here you can tell me it's what I specialize in," Dom said.

"Alright." Gordon said. "Harvey Dent was Gotham's former district attorney. He became Gotham's white knight. We all believed him. But then the Joker killed his girl and Harvey went mad. It only took a little push after that. While Harvey was at the hospital the Joker visited him and corrupted him. Disfigured and insane Harvey became a murderer and in the end he died. If Gotham knew this the people would lose their spirits."

"Heavy stuff there," Arthur said.

"Yeah." Gordon said. "But now that the Joker's back I'm afraid Batman might have a harder time now stopping him."

"That's what we came to you to talk about," Dom said.

"I'm afraid the Joker has learned a few new tricks," Arthur told him.

"Yes and we need the Batman's help to stop him," Dom said. "Do you know where he is?"

"You're going against the Joker?" Gordon said. "You're crazier than he is."

"This is too important," Dom said. "The Joker has invaded our business."

"Where's your business," Gordon asked.

"That's the thing," Dom said. "We specialize in a very unique type of business. It's called extraction."

"What's extraction?" Gordon said.

Arthur informatively answered Arthur's question. "When a person is asleep they dream, right? The architect creates the world of the dream. Now we put another person, the subject, into that dream and they fill it with their secrets. As extractors it's our job to steal those secrets."

"You guys are here to steal my secrets?" Gordon said as he stood up and pulled a gun on them.

"No." Dom answered as he stood up. "You see I'm afraid the Joker has become an extractor."

"What?" Gordon said as he put his gun down.

"Joker now has the ability to go into people's dreams and steal their secrets," Arthur said.

"This is not good," Gordon said.

"It's gets worse," Arthur said. "With the Joker's insane nature he'll soon be able to figure out the opposite… Inception."

"You mean instead of stealing a person's secrets he puts a new one in their mind?" Gordon asked.

"Correct," Dom said. "If implanted in a mind, that simple idea can grow like a parasite. And considering the Joker, that idea can destroy that person from the inside out."

"If the Joker could implant the truth of Harvey Dent into person's mind that person would break," Gordon said.

"That's what we came to you for Gordon," Dom said. "It would take the most skilled extractor to stop a maniac like the Joker. Lucky for you I am the most skilled extractor."

"Good luck," Gordon said. "The Joker had the people of Gotham cowering under his fingertips a few years ago. Only Batman could stop him. We need to act fast if we need to stop him. Let's get to my car."

"Your car's not here," Dom said.

"What are you talking about?" Gordon said.

"Try look outside," Arthur said.

Gordon walked to the window and peeked outside into the rainy night street to see the streets completely clear.

"I don't get it," Gordon said. "How did we get here then?" He asked them.

"That's a good question. Can you remember how did we get here?" Dom said.

Gordon thought to himself and realized what was going on. "No way," he said.

"You're dreaming," Dom said.

Just then Gordon closed his eyes and woke up in his commissioner office. He lifted his head up. Then Dom and Arthur also woke up from their sleep. They were sitting in the two chairs in front of Gordon's desk. Gordon noticed he was hooked up to a suitcase so he took off the wire.

"That was weird," Gordon said. "I was dreaming."

"Yeah," Arthur said. "Remember dreams feel real while we're in them. When you wake up then you realize something was actually strange."

"We came here to ask you to help us find Batman," Dom said. "Do you know where he is?"

"No," Gordon said. "But I know how to call him."

The three of them went to the roof. Gordon showed them the new Bat-signal.

"This gentlemen is the Bat-signal," Gordon said. "It's what I use to bring Batman here."

"A spotlight with a bat on it how original," Arthur said.

"Heh, you just wait," Gordon said. "He'll be here in a flash."

The three of them waited for about five minutes.

"He's not here yet Gordon," Dom said.

"He's probably busy," Gordon answered. And he was right.


	8. Scarecrow Returns

And Gordon was right. Meanwhile Batman was busy that night handling a crime.

This was Ariadne's first time in Gotham and she was overcome by the desire to sightsee. So she exited the police station.

"Where are you going Ariadne?" Eames asked.

"I wanna go see the town. Starting with subway it's my first time," Ariadne responded.

"Ah that's good. You won't regret it," Eames told her.

"But are you sure you don't need to be escorted?" Yusuf jokingly asked.

"I'm not a little kid!" Ariadne said. Then she left out the door. She walked along the street and saw a staircase with a big sign that said Gotham Subway over it. She walked down the stairs into the underground tunnel. She gazed at the nice train station. She walked over to the ticket booth.

"Ticket mam?" said the ticket guy.

"One please to Wayne Enterprises," Ariadne said. She got a ticket and walked over to the benches near the tracks. She wanted to explore the city of Gotham as well as meet the city's billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne. A bit of crush on him but nonetheless she had wanderlust.

She was sitting on the subway train reading a book she had brought on the trip. She was carefree at this moment. But then she heard a gunshot from the back of a train. Everyone screamed in terror and scrambled in their seats.

"Shut up! Sit down!" Four thugs armed with guns stood up from their seats on the train. Their seats were spread out on the train so they could ensure widespread panic. They aimed their guns at the terrified passengers.

"Hahahaha," came an eerie laugh from one of the passengers sitting in the front.

"Your up boss," said one of thugs to the man.

The man stood up. Ariadne and some of the people looked to the front of train to see a young man stand up. He put on a weird looking mask and walked to the train driver.

"Hello there old man," the masked man said to the driver. "I'm afraid you're fired." That was the last thing the train driver heard before the masked man pulled out a pistol and shot him. The gunshot scared the crowd but the thugs shut them up. Also one of thugs walked up to the driver seat and took control of the subway train.

The masked leader then walked through the crowd. "Welcome everyone to your worst fears, you'll all be perfect test subjects for my newer, more potent chemical." He then stopped in front of a lady. "Hello there miss. Are you enjoying your night? Would you like it to become much worse?"

"I know you!" said the lady. "You're Dr. Jonathan Crane!"

"No!" shouted Crane. "There is no Dr. Crane! I am Scarecrow." He punched the lady and continued to walk forward. He then stopped in front of Ariadne.

"Well hello little girl. Do I scare you?" said Scarecrow.

"I'm not little." Ariadne said. And I'm not scared of a crazy b!%rd like you.

"Hahaha," Scarecrow laughed. "We have a fiesty one here!" Then Ariadne lifted up her foot and kicked him in the stomach.

"Ow oh," Scarecrow grasped his stomach but continued to laugh. "Nice shot little girl. Now here's mine!" Then Scarecrow took out a spray can and sprayed his fear gas at Ariadne.

"Aahh!" Ariadne gasped as her eyes got scratchy. She fell off her seat onto the floor as she closed her eyes and rubbed them. Then she opened her eyes and looked up at Scarecrow.

"Now tell me girl now do I scare you?" Scarecrow said. He bent down at looked at Ariadne. Ariadne looked at him and let out a scream. Whenever Scarecrow laughed or talked it echoed throughout her ears menacingly and Ariadne's vision was shrouded by her greatest fears. The fear toxin worked it's way on Ariadne as she kept screaming.

Then Batman swooped up to the front window of the subway and smashed right through it. He knocked out the thug driver.

Scarecrow growled. "Ugh Batman. I knew you'd be here. Get him!" One of thugs lunged at Batman but Batman caught his fist, punched him in the face and slammed him on his knee. Scarecrow and the other two thugs took out their guns and shot at Batman. Batman jumped out of a window. The three men thought he left. But Batman clinged to the side of the subway and carefully made his way across. He then got to a window close to one of thugs. Batman smashed the window, grabbed a thug, pulled him out of the window and dropped him on the tracks. Batman jumped in and fired his arm spikes at the other thug. He then disarmed him and took him down.

Then Scarecrow went up to Batman and sprayed him with his fear gas. Batman then started to hallucinate with bats all around him. He dropped to his knees.

Scarecrow stood over him. "Yes, let the toxin ravage your mind and destroy you from the inside."

But Batman came prepared. He took out a small needle, obscured it from Scarecrow's vision, and injected himself with it. It contained the antidote for the fear toxin so Batman stopped hallucinating. He then tackled Scarecrow and disarmed him of the spray can.

"No! How did you-" Scarecrow tried to say but Batman took of his mask and punched him.

"Just give up Crane. You'll never win," Batman said as he punched Scarecrow again, knocking him out. Then Batman ran to the front and stopped the subway train (conveniently at a subway station stop). He then walked over to Ariadne who was still hallucinating. He only brought one antidote needle so he picked her up and flew out of the train. He flew to the police station (because it was closer than Wayne Mansion to where they were). He also noticed the Bat-Signal in the sky.

Batman landed on the roof of the police station and found Gordon, Dom, and Arthur there.

"Ah see I told you he would come," Gordon told them. "Batman it's about time."

"Gordon I need some antidote for Scarecrow's toxin," Batman said.

Dom and Arthur saw that Batman was carrying a girl. But then they looked closer.

"Oh my God," Arthur said.

"Ariadne!" Dom shouted as he and Arthur ran over to Batman.

"What happened to her?" Arthur asked Batman.

Batman explained, "She was sprayed with Scarecrow's fear gas. It's a type of nerve toxin that forces the victim to suffer hallucinations of their worst fears. You seem to know her. Here you go." Batman handed Ariadne to Arthur.

"Will she be alright?" Arthur asked.

"She'll be fine," Batman assured. "She just needs the antidote."

"What happened to Scarecrow?" Gordon said.

"Gotham's finest are handling it," Batman said. "They'll take him back to Arkham."

"Good," Gordon said. "Now come on let's get Ariadne cured."

Ariadne was laid down on a bed in the infirmary of the station and Batman injected her with the antidote. Eames and Yusuf walked into the room.

"Ariadne you've looked better," Eames said.

"What happened to Ariadne?" Yusuf asked.

"She was sprayed with Scarecrow's fear gas. It's a terrible hallucinogenic fear toxin," Batman said.

"Toxin you say?" Yusuf said interested. "Do you have any?"

"Yes I do, I snatched this from Scarecrow," Batman said. He threw Scarecrow's fear gas spray can to Yusuf.

"What's on your mind Yusuf?" Dom asked.

"Remember I'm an expert on toxins," Yusuf assured. "I'm going to look in on this 'fear gas'."

"Oh yes Batman," Gordon said. "This is Dom and Arthur. They'll fill you in."

"Nice to finally meet the big bat," Dom said as he shook Batman's hand. He then introduced the others. "This is Eames, Yusuf, and the girl you just rescued is Ariadne."

"Welcome to Gotham," Batman said. "What're you here for?"

"I believe you know that you're friend, the clown has escaped from Arkham," Dom said.

"I know," Batman said. "But there's nothing he can throw at me that I can't handle."

"Actually there is," Arthur said.

"It seems we have realized our worst fears," Gordon said.

"The Joker has now trained himself in the world of extraction," Dom said.

"What's extraction?" Batman asked.

"When you're asleep, you're mind is most vulnerable," Dom explained. "You're deepest secrets are stored in there. When you're dreaming your subconscious is left open for someone to break in and steal your secrets. That is what the Joker is able to do now."

"The Joker has become an extractor," Arthur said.

"What!" Batman surprisingly said."You're lucky he hasn't targeted you yet Batman," Dom said.

"But we know he can because a few days ago he invaded my dream," Dom said.

"And mine," Arthur said.

"To share someone's dream you need to hook yourself up to one of these," Dom said as he took out his PASIV device. "But somehow the Joker has been able to break into people's minds without hooking up to this."

"How?" Batman asked.

"We don't know," Arthur said. "That's why we need your help."

"I heard you could stop the Joker," Dom said. "When he's in dream world leave it to us. I am the best extractor you'll find. I can twist your mind. But fist fighting in the real world is your specialty so that's for you."

"I'd known what I had to become to stop him," Batman said. "But now there's telling what kind of destruction he could do now."

"The mind is a powerful thing," Arthur said.

"I'm in," Batman assured. "But we need to find the Joker and that won't be easy."

"We'll talk about in the morning," Gordon told everyone. "For now let's get a good night's rest. Dom I've reserved you an your friends five spots at the Gotham hotel. I'm the Police Commissioner so it wasn't hard."

"Thanks Commissioner," Dom said. "Alright people let's go." Arthur picked up Ariadne and they left the station and went to the hotel.


	9. The Fear Gas

Ariadne woke up in a bed. She gazed at the hotel room she was in.

"Ugh, where am I?" she said quietly to herself.

"Good you're awake," said Dom sitting right next to her.

"What happened?" Ariadne asked.

"You were out cold but Batman rescued you. Long story short we brought you back here and now we got Batman on our side," Dom explained.

"Where's everyone else?" Ariadne asked.

Dom answered, "They're all downstairs getting a bite to eat."

Just then the door opened and Arthur walked in. "Ariadne you're alright," he said.

"Well I'll let you take care of it," Dom said to Arthur. "I'm hungry," and he went downstairs.

"Oh my head," Ariadne said.

"You'll be fine," Arthur said. "Come on get ready we got work to do." Ariadne got ready and walked with Arthur down the hall to downstairs.

"Scarecrow had you under some kind of fear toxin," Arthur explained. "Yusuf's looking in on it right now. Batman cured you and handed you to us. And he agreed to help us stop the Joker."

"Good," Ariadne said.

Downstairs, Dom and Eames were sitting at a breakfast table, talking story. Then Arthur and Ariadne walked over with two plates of breakfast.

"Ah there she is," Eames happily said. "You feeling better little girl?"

"Sure am Eames," Ariadne said. "Hey where's Yusuf?"

"He snuck into the hotel wine cellar, shhh," Dom quietly said. "He's examining the fear toxin Scarecrow poisoned you with. Says he needs silence to work best.

"Don't worry he already ate," Eames said. "Quite fast I'm surprised. Must've been really hungry."

Just then something popped up on the overhead TV.

A news reporter was talking to the mayor. "Mr. Mayor what do you plan to do about the recent prison break from Arkham?"

"I assure you that we are doing everything we can to contain the criminals," the Mayor said.

Then she got more serious, "Are you also aware that the Joker was among the villains who broke out?"

"There's no reason to panic everything is being done to prevent him from taking Gotham again," the Mayor tried to assured but even he was in denial about this.

"And there you have it, back to you Jack," the reporter ended.

"Thank you," Jack Ryder said. "Now for the good news." The TV went to a picture of Bruce Wayne surrounded by a crowd. "The city thanks Bruce Wayne for his generous donation to Gotham's science departments. A very unexpected but much appreciated gesture from our billionaire playboy."

Ariadne stared lovingly at the TV.

"Ah young love," Eames said as he noticed Ariadne's eyes.

"Shut up Eames," Ariadne said.

"Anything to say Mr. Wayne?" the news caster said.

"Well I think it's very important to advance our science expertise to help us discover new cures for diseases and other things," Bruce Wayne said.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne," Jack Ryder said. "Recent reports at -," the TV was interrupted by some static. "Ladies and gentleman we uh, appear to be having some technical difficulties.

The men at the news channel station didn't know what was going on.

"What's going on?" said the station boss.

"Something's wrong with our signal," one of the crewmen said.

"We're being overridden by another transmission," said another crewman. The broadcasting TVs were filled with static. Then it started to make out a picture followed by a hard static voice.

"I'm - back (static)" the crew could barely make out. Then the Joker appeared on the screen. He was being broadcast on all the TVs on Gotham.

Back at the hotel, all people were spooked at the Joker's unexpected appearance.

"It's the Joker!" Arthur said.

"Hello people of Gotham. I'm back," Joker said. "I hope you're all ready for another one of my acts. I'll give you guys a little taste of what you're all gonna experience." Then the Joker's guy moved the camera over to a tortured guy in a hospital bed. He was in a very scared and terrified position with Joker's smile and eyes painted on his face.

"No! Stay away. It can't be, NOOO!" the guy was panting.

The Joker asked menacingly, "Hey Walter how are you doing? HUH?"

"Aah!" Walter screamed. The Joker then squeezed Walter's cheek as he was whimpering.

"And remember Gotham you're next," Joker said. "And Batman I know you're watching. You could end all this now if you take off that mask and turn yourself in. If not, then watch them suffer." Then the Joker pulled out a gun from his pocket and shot Walter. "HAHAHAHAHA," the Joker laughed and the camera turned off. Then all the TVs reverted back to normal.

The news casters were all spooked out.

"This is bad," Arthur told the others. "We have to go now. Let's go get Yusuf."

The four of them stood up from their table and went to the wine cellar.

"Yusuf, where are you?" Arthur called out.

"Right here!" Yusuf answered. They found him sitting at a desk with a bunch of test tubes and a microscope. "This fear gas you found is incredible! From what I've observed here and it's effects on Ariadne last night, when this fear gas is inhaled it triggers a psychological reaction in the victim. It acts like a sedative putting the victim to a sleeplike state and triggers a psychological effect that makes them see their worse nightmares and fears around them."

"We know that," Dom told him.

"Yes but there's more to it," Yusuf said. "I thought to myself: What could else could this toxin do if you were in a dream? Apparently if you were actually able to use this in the dream, it would act like the somnacin in a PASIV device and would send you to the next level in your subconscious. And since we are reaching the deep levels of your mind, the fears get much worse. However you would be the only one experiencing that dream while everyone else would be somewhere else."

"I don't know how that guy was able to synthesize something like this but it sure is something," Arthur said.


	10. First Timers First Dreamers

Meanwhile at Wayne Mansion, Bruce Wayne was working out in his gym doing some pull ups. Alfred came in with a platter with a glass of iced tea on it.

"Care for a drink, Master Wayne?" Alfred formally asked him.

Bruce let go of the bar and took the drink. "I haven't even gotten to push ups yet Alfred."

"So have you given any thought to what those people told you last night?" Alfred asked.

"Not yet Alfred but I will," Bruce said. "To think that the Joker could come into my mind at night and just pull of my mask, it threatens my personal security."

"Well I suggest you get to work before that bloody clown starts partying around in your head sir," Alfred said before he left.

"Alright then," Bruce said. He put on a shirt and went down to the science department room to see Lucius Fox. He walked through and looked around as he passed by his Batman suit, gadgets, and car. Then he found Lucius at his desk on a computer.

"Lucius," Bruce called to him. He got off his computer and stood up.

"Well hello Mr. Wayne," Lucius said. "I made some new upgrades to your armor." He pressed a button and a nearby wall turned around with new Batman armor. "I removed most of the unneeded components and kept the useful ones. I also added thin but strong slanted layers of materials. In other words, this will deflect gunfire even better and possibly protect you from explosions and shrapnel while still maintaining your speed and agility."

"Will it protect from dogs now?" Bruce asked. Lucius pressed a button on the arm and they heard a small whistle.

"High pitched whistle with auto-tune frequency for dogs, clowns and anything else you're fighting - with protection for your own ears as well. I also added smoke screens for cover and electric rods on your fingers for stunning."

"Always know I can rely on you Lucius," Bruce said.

"I know Mr. Wayne," Lucius answered. "Is there anything else you need?"

"I need you to look up on dream sharing," Bruce told him.

"Already have. I've done some research and work from what those guys last night told you," Lucius assured.

"How does everyone know about this?" Bruce said.

"Alfred told me this morning," Lucius said.

"Alfred can never keep his mouth shut can he?" Bruce said.

"Yeah well without him, you wouldn't have your head screwed on," Lucius jokingly said. "Because Alfred would have to screw it on for you."

"Heh very funny," Bruce sarcastically said. "So what can you tell me about dream sharing."

Lucius got on his computer and explained it to Bruce, "It was originally a special program produced by the military for fighting techniques that would be otherwise lethal in the real world. Extractors like Dom make a living stealing secrets from other people's minds. Dream sharing is possible through using a special PASIV device like this." A picture of a PASIV device showed up on the computer. "It uses wires to distribute a special drug called somnacin that allows dream sharing."

After a few minutes of explaining, Bruce understood the concept.

"I have also put some work into this too. I made this PASIV device to help you train," Lucius said as he gave Bruce the suitcase.

"Alright so I just hook this thing here, uh Lucius could you show me the ropes?" Bruce said.

"You want me to come into your fantasy? That's a scary thought" Lucius said jokingly.

"Very funny, here you go," Bruce handed the wire to Lucius and the two of them hooked up the wires to themselves and fell asleep on some chairs.

Bruce woke up in a prestigious restaurant/ballroom. Projections were either eating at the tables or waltzing on the dance floor in the middle.

"Over here Mr. Wayne!" Lucius called out to him from a table.

Bruce walked over and sat down. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah it's me. So this is you thought of?" Lucius said.

"Pretty nice huh?" Bruce said.

"Yeah sure," Lucius replied.

"These people are projections of your subconscious Lucius." Bruce explained. "They'll be nice as long as I don't reveal myself as the dreamer."

"Very classy I know," Lucius said.

"Well if you don't mind I'm gonna check out those two," Bruce said pointing to two girls near a bar. He started talking to them and brought them to the dance floor.

Lucius walked over to the bar and ordered a martini. "Hmm, tastes real," he said after drinking it. Sorry Mr. Wayne but we don't have time for this," Lucius said as he brought out a gun and shot Bruce and then himself.

"I'm gonna kill you later Lucius," Bruce said.

"Don't get lost in your mind Mr. Wayne," Fox said. Bruce then left and went upstairs.


	11. Fear is Power

"Come on we have to go now," Dom said. He and the others exited the hotel.

"So you wouldn't mind me asking where we going?" Eames asked.

"The Plaza de Rosa," Arthur said. "That's where he's waiting."

"He?" Ariadne asked.

"Our contact," Dom answered. "Thomas Schiff. Worked with the Joker a while back but then escaped and went into hiding. It's a miracle he's still alive."

The team headed over to the Plaza de Rosa and entered.

"He said he'd be at the front desk," Arthur said. They walked in and saw a man in a business suit leaning on the front desk. "That's him," Arthur said.

"Thomas" Dom said quietly. The man looked over.

"It's you," Tom said as Dom walked over to him and told the others to stay back and look natural. "Alright, now the Joker is a man incapable of emotion. I hope you know the risks of dealing with him."

"If an entire city's at stake I think you know the costs," Dom said.

Tom nodded. "Alright I have a tip that the Joker is meeting with the remaining Gotham mob members in a warehouse at Pier 4 at 7:00 tonight. They'll be discussing on the Joker's new methods of taking the city, on district at a time."

"Crap, we have to act now," Dom reacted.

"No kidding," Tom said. "Here I also snuck this away." And he handed Dom a small knife with a hollow handle."

"What's with this?" Dom asked him.

"I don't know but he was keeping it real close to him," Tom said. "It's the knife he tells his 'scar stories' with."

Just then the lady at front desk received a call. "Hello?" she said. She could barely make out a muffled voice into, "May I speak to Thomas Schiff?"

"Excuse me Thomas," the front desk lady said to him. "You have a call for you." Tom took the phone.

"Uh hello?" he said unknowingly. And then his expression turned grim as he heard the Joker's laughter on the line. It was so loud that Dom could still barely hear it. "Oh my-," was all Tom managed to say it.

"GET DOWN!" Dom screamed as he grabbed Ariadne and jumped away. The front desk exploded and killed Tom Schiff as well as the people at the front desk. But the team managed to react in time to avoid the explosion.

"Holy crap," Arthur said as he looked at the charred wreckage of the front desk and the dead workers. The team got to their feet, called the police, and left back to their hotel except for Dom to stayed back.

Commissioner Gordon and the other cops arrived at the scene 10 minutes later and met Dom outside the front desk.

"What's going on Cobb?" Gordon asked.

"Take a look for yourself," he said as he walked Gordon into the front door at the crime scene. The police set up caution tape around it and examined the bodies.

"The Joker's struck again," Gordon said.

"That's not all," Dom said. "The Joker's gonna hit the warehouse at Pier 4 tonight."

"Crap," Gordon responded. "I'm gonna have to send in a firing squad there tonight."

Later that night, Dom, Arthur, and Eames dressed in black and assembled quietly at Pier 4. A few cars pulled into the pier and about 10 men exited the cars and entered the warehouse. The three guys moved up, loaded their pistols, and prepared to infiltrate the warehouse. Gordon appeared and call out to Dom.

"Cobb!" Gordon shouted followed by about 11 SWAT men. "My men are ready to breach and clear that place."

"No!" Dom retorted. "That's just what the Joker wants."

"No Cobb!" Gordon answered. "You're sounding crazy right now, the Joker is in there and I have to stop him now!

"Gordon listen to me, the Joker has no rules," Dom said. "You can't send your men in there right away, it's not that simple. Let me and my guys go in first and we'll tell you when you can send your guys in."

"You have 5 minutes," Gordon said.

Dom nodded and he, Arthur, and Eames moved in on the warehouse. Dom went to the back door and used a lock pick to silently enter through the door. He pulled out his pistol and took cover by some crates. Eames and Arthur went upstairs.

"Alright here we go boy," Eames said as he used a glass cutter to silently cut through the window of the second floor. He removed the glass and climbed through and took cover behind a wood panel. Arthur further headed up the stairs to the roof and observed the meeting through the roof's sun windows.

Four men were armed and their leader was wearing a clown mask. It had to be the Joker. He walked forward and started making an offer to the other 10 guys.

"There he is," Dom said.

"Come and work for me," the Joker said.

"Why the hell should we?" a short man with a long nose and an umbrella walked forward and said. "What's in it for us?"

"All depends on what you want; money, power?" the Joker said. "I can distribute your crates of drugs and make us millions."

Gordon stood at the edge of the pier waiting. He reached for his radio and talked into it. "Sniper team move into position." Lt. Osborn and the sniper team moved into position on top of a small building overlooking the warehouse.

"In position sir. We have eyes on 5 clowns give us the word," Lt. Osborn said.

"Alright," Gordon said as he coordinated the others. "Ground team move up and prepare to breach."

"Yes sir," Sgt. Estevez said. The ground team rushed to warehouse. 5 guys stacked up at the doors on the bottom and 4 guys went upstairs and stacked up at the second floor entrances and windows. Dom and Eames noticed the guys moving in.

"Hey what are you guys doing?" Dom said to them.

"Shut up," Sgt. Estevez said as he and another guys moved into cover behind the crates.

"Damn it Gordon," Dom said quietly to himself.

Meanwhile the thugs continued their conversation. "Or I could just do this kill you take your money and Gotham for myself," the Penguin said. "And we'll still see where your guys' loyalties are ha."

"Loyalty huh," Joker said. "It's very funny when you think about it. Do you think your men really want to follow you because they want to or is just because of your money or power? Hahaha. The only way to really rule over others is through fear. Your men will only do what you say when they fear you. Then they're like lapdogs that will follow you wherever you go. Fear is power."

"Power I'll show you power!" the Penguin aimed the tip of his umbrella at the Joker.

"Sir!" Sgt. Estevez said.

"Do it," Gordon said. "Only kill the Joker and whoever fires at you."

"Take em out," Lt. Osborn said.

"Breaching breaching!" the other officers said as they breached into the warehouse. The ones on the second floor broke through the windows.

"No!" Arthur said. Lt. Osborn took aim with his sniper rifle and shot the Joker in the face. The Penguin raised his umbrella and started firing a machine gun out of it. The other clowns and mob guys took cover with pistols. The officers started shooting enemies with taser/non lethal guns.

"Get some tear gas in there!" Sgt. Estevez shouted. One of the SWATS through a grenade and gas dispersed incapacitating all enemies and dropping them to the floor except for the Penguin who was still firing. He was blinded by the tear gas but continued to blindly fire his machine gun randomly. Penguin attempted to rub his eyes. Sgt. Estevez came out of cover and gunned Penguin down.

Estevez then contacted Gordon through his radio, "We're clear sir. The threats are dead and the others are incapacitated."

"Take them into custody and examine the Joker," Gordon said. He then said to himself, "You see Dom it was that simple."

"Yes sir," Estevez said. Let's get these guys outta here and see if the Joker's dead. Estevez walked over to the dead man and took off his mask and saw in shock and disappointment that it was NOT the Joker. "Uh Gordon, this is Estevez, the Joker is not here, repeat the Joker is not here!"

"Crap!" Gordon said. "Alright secure the place and those drugs." Dom, Arthur, and Eames stood up and walked away from the scene. The officers walked over to the crates and opened them. "Hey wait a minute," one of the officers said as he picked up a brick of the stuff. "This isn't cocaine, this is semtex!" Suddenly all the crates exploded. Dom, Arthur, and Eames ran out of the building in time and jumped off the pier into the water. The massive explosion engulfed the warehouse in flames.

"Oh my God!" Gordon panicked. "Estevez come in are you there?" The radio was unresponsive. Estevez and everyone else in the building was dead except for Dom, Arthur, and Eames.

"Holy crap," Lt. Osborn said. But suddenly he felt something in his back. He turned around and saw the real Joker smiling and stabbing him in the back.

Dom, Arthur, and Eames swam to docks and climbed up and returned to Gordon. "You see Gordon!" Dom shouted. "It's never that simple, it was a trap!"

Arthur continued, "The Joker wanted us to come here so he could kill us."

"You can't be so quick to judge the situation!" Dom said. "My God, why did the Joker set this up anyway?"

Suddenly, Gordon received a message on his radio. "To send a message," the Joker said. Dom overheard it. "Gordon you should've listened to Cobb, I really am complicated hahaha. I have to say though my doppelganger really did a good job don't you think. He said the things I would've almost thought about saying. And hey I'm getting a great view of the blast from the sniper's nest! Gordon immediately realized what he was saying.

"My snipers are dead," Gordon said.

"Gordon this what I was saying!" Dom told him. "From now on we have to smart about our actions. We have to anticipate what that clown will do."

"It's never simple," Arthur said.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
